Mr. Franklin Graham, masquerading as the mouthpiece of God, believes presidential candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg should repent of being gay. This tells me Mr. Graham has a limited understanding of the natural variances of human sexuality, which, while certainly forgivable, is nonetheless hard to believe.
Look no further than the White House he ardently supports to see two striking differences. Both President Trump and Vice President Pence identify as straight, but one strikes me as a gentleman who, while not my cup of tea, appears committed to a monogamous lifestyle and to his gracious wife.
The other is The Donald.
If Graham has a moral litmus test to determine who is worthy of being president of the United States, how did Access Hollywood and Howard Stern guest Donald Trump pass? Many of my evangelical friends squirm like a female Biden aide when confronted with documented things POTUS has said or done. They continue to ride the Trump Train, though, not because they envision him an exemplar of Christ-likeness, but because he's bringing home the Red State bacon.
Others make the argument that Trump, who assured a reporter a few years ago that he'd never asked God for forgiveness, is a model Christian. At this point in any such conversation, my face takes on an "I'm so over you right now" Maxine Waters meme.
Reality TV celebrity Trump never mentioned faith until he entered the world of Republican politics, so I understand all this "God stuff" is new to him. Franklin Graham, on the other hand, bears a noble name synonymous with Christianity in America, a legacy he diminishes with almost every utterance he makes.
It appears that he (and a great many other evangelicals) gleefully ignore the personal morality (or lack thereof) of Republican candidates to focus exclusively on folks who will ramrod a conservative agenda. Gone is the Republican Party of my childhood--the one of Reagan and Bush. Still, my evangelical compatriots want to hold Democratic politicians to "the straight [pun intended] and narrow."
Graham (notice the absence of "reverend") just doesn't get it. Ask any gay individual about a life of ridicule, fear, and--there's no other word for it--hell. Ask me at what point I "decided to be gay."
Here's a tip, Franklin: Being gay is not a choice.
I went to no fewer than a dozen conservative Christian counselors (including to one beloved and sincere Southern Baptist-trained seminarian for over a decade). The top two prayers of my life have been for God to heal my mother who's been disabled since I was 4, and to make me straight, a prayer I began flinging at the doors of heaven as a frightened, self-loathing gay child. I saw God answer so many prayers, but never these two.
If sexuality were a choice, I dare say most LGBTQ people throughout history would have pushed the "heterosexuality button." It's an odd thing about human beings; we prefer not to be shunned, hated, and discriminated against. Think of the many estranged LGBTQ individuals who aren't welcome either in their churches or families of origin. Most of my life I chose heterosexuality daily and twice on Sunday.
But it never chose me.
Buttigieg himself recently told a crowd, "If you had offered me a pill to make me straight, I would have swallowed it before you had time to give me a sip of water. ... If you had shown me exactly what it was inside me that made me gay, I would have cut it out with a knife."
These are not the words of a man flaunting his sexuality. Rather, it's someone baring his soul and sharing his truth--a breath of refreshment Washington, D.C., could use in abundance.
While the loudmouth spokespersons of the Religious Right remain conveniently clueless, many rank-and-file evangelicals increasingly understand. They extend courtesy, compassion, and friendship to all, and are far less concerned with the object of someone's love than with an individual's willingness to demonstrate Christian affection.
Franklin Graham's father, though conservative, was a loving man. Franklin Graham, also conservative, apparently lacks the basic comprehension of scriptural content that includes the parts about loving and not judging your neighbor. I also commend to Mr. Graham's attention the comment Pete Buttigieg recently directed to Vice President Pence: "If you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator."
Let me be clear. I do not know Franklin Graham. I do not hate Franklin Graham. I am not jealous of Franklin Graham's wealth or his near-seven-figure salary. What bothers me about Franklin Graham is his habit of using Samson's weapon to attack anyone who stands in the way of his political agenda.
Like all of us, I'm sure Mayor Pete has a need to repent of many things, but his sexuality isn't one of them.
------------v------------
James Seawel of Maynard is an Arkansas-licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) and a Christian counselor currently on tour as a Military Family Life Counselor at Camp Zama, Japan.
Editorial on 05/03/2019